


About Lesbians in Space

by Highsmith (quimtessence)



Category: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Chocolate Box Treat, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Humour, Lesbians in Space, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-13 23:57:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5721886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quimtessence/pseuds/Highsmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Romance! Lesbians! Space! Featuring Lydia Bennet and George Wickham as the inevitable foils.</p>
            </blockquote>





	About Lesbians in Space

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anabel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anabel/gifts).



> All I can say is that I'm easily talked into writing things. Beta read by Izzy, whose enthusiasm was overwhelming.

Ship Mechanic Kitty Bennet—pretty for her frame, handy around a busted secondary injector pipe, and decidedly of no great means—stared in absolute horror as the captain of the Netherfield, the frankly quite imposing Colonel Fitzwilliam, informed the crew and passengers that they would be taking on a Charter to replace their former Navigator. 

Collins had been forced out of his post of Navigator by virtue of being no longer alive, despite consistent efforts to regenerate himself by using (and oftentimes overloading) their Rev-Pods. It was all a conceited endeavour on his part, besides being awfully costly, and, all in all, pretty darn pointless outside of a Spek-Clinic. 

Ship Medic Charlotte Lucas was humouring him for some unfathomable reason, though Kitty suspected she regularly unplugged the machines to save them the wattage. 

The problem with a new Charter, as Kitty saw it, was twofold: space and permits. 

Darcy had already given up his own room for George Wickham's comfort, their newest passenger, and had got himself a bunk in a solitary, disused nook of the ship. Lizzy was sharing a comfortable yet small cabin with Lydia whenever Lydia deigned to sleep in her own bunk, which was not often. Kitty was making use of the engine room for her accommodation, as per usual, while the Medic and the Captain had their respective quarters. There were several cabin boys running about, minding the cargo until their respective stops came, attending to any minor ship troubles, though Kitty couldn't quite fathom where exactly on the ship they dwelt when they weren't underfoot. 

The Netherfield was full to the brink with cargo. Where in Andromeda's Constellation would a new Charter reside? 

As far as permits were concerned, Kitty didn't doubt the Bingley siblings had the coin to procure everything which was necessary, but that might mean fewer resources for the rest of the crew in the future. Kitty's job was far from secure, although always choosing the engine room over a cabin with a proper bunk made her attractive to penny-pinching potential employers. 

She'd picked up all her long-standing habits living first on the Longbourn as a child, then aboard the Meryton as second mechanic—one of many. It wasn't until Lizzy's recent employment as Pilot on the Netherfield—for the foreseeable future—that Kitty had the opportunity to finally travel inside Orion's Belt. Kitty owed her post to Elizabeth being chosen to be at the helm like the conscientious little pilot she was, but Lydia had won a place running the kitchen after a particularly intense card game with the Captain in his quarters. Kitty hadn't been present, but both Elizabeth and Lydia had been hinting around at the latter's bluffing skills for years. Kitty suspected Elizabeth could be a generous sister to Kitty herself all she wanted, but Lydia wouldn't have stood for the same sort of treatment. 

After making his initial announcement, the Captain saw fit to inform them their new crew member would join them in just a few hours' time, for which they would be making an earlier stop than previously anticipated. Apparently, a cruiser crossing (as they were) in the general vicinity of Mintaka would hover near the Netherfield as necessary. At least they wouldn't have to exit Orion's Belt to pick up their Charter. Kitty wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. 

They all returned to their respective quarters to wait out the time until the Netherfield would make the pick-up. Kitty's eyes adjusted quickly to the dim reddish light ever-present in the engine room; she had work to do. She busied herself with some loose circuits she'd been meaning to fiddle with for the past week now, while secretly fretting over the space issue. 

She was immersed elbow-deep in circuitry, and it seemed that hardly any time had passed at all, when Darcy's head popped in to announce they'd nearly reached their quarry. 

"How long will we be hovering, do you know?" she asked. 

Darcy shrugged briefly. His head popped back out. Kitty sighed. He enjoyed shrugging and frowning and smirking knowingly way too much, but he was the Ship's First and Kitty was the Ship Mechanic. If he and the Captain understood each other, it wasn't Kitty's business how the man chose to communicate. 

She followed proper operating procedure for a Temporary Linger Manoeuvre, all the while hoping this wouldn't set them back on delivery times on any of their cargo. 

Kitty considered a good scrub before they'd be called into the main communal area to greet the new arrival, but the communal bath was all the way on the other side of the ship, and the last time Kitty had left petrol stains around the ship, Lydia's new trousers had been smeared something awful, which had led to a week straight of only tuna casseroles. 

She didn't have too long to ponder the bathing issue (pretty much the only problem with bunking in the engine room) before she heard the all-clear to sever Temporary Linger Manoeuvre. 

_That was so very fast_ , she thought fretfully. But, upon initialising procedures, she realised everything was indeed in order, and no further action was necessary. Kitty counted it as a good omen; one could never have too many of those. 

Choosing to sneak into the Infirmary first for a quick wash, Kitty had to run the rest of the way to where the entire crew and their only current passenger were gathered. 

Darcy was too tall to stand so far in front, even if he was saying something relevant right now about the Netherfield's cargo capabilities. Fortunately, seeing Kitty's bustle to reach the front, Elizabeth moved aside so Kitty could get her first gander at their brand new Charter. 

Firstly, she was a, well, _she_. 

The Captain introduced her as Georgiana. She had big eyes, and a small nose, and she squared her shoulders inwards in obvious shyness. Her fingers were ink-smeared when Elizabeth stepped forward to shake her hand. 

Kitty had blindly assumed Collins would be replaced with another male person. It was a strange assumption to make, even in her own head, but Charters were costly to a ship owner's resources and cumbersome to convince to switch vessels. Men seemed—still—to have a monopoly on such scarce, highly-paid jobs. 

Granted, their new Charter had yet to mention anything about gender identities, or any such things, but Colonel Fitzwilliam had just refered to her as a "great young woman", and Kitty knew the Captain as unlikely to misgender. 

Secondly, their new Charter was wearing a dress. 

Were people allowed to wear dresses on board ships? It just seemed so... impractical, possibly illegal, and definitely dangerous. Lydia's shifts were often oversized, hanging near her knees in-between changes of clothes, but that was a completely different matter entirely as she had yet to begin walking the ship in her underclothes. 

Simply put, Ship Crew did not wear dresses. 

Except when, apparently, they did. 

Which left the matter of sleeping arrangements. Surely the girl had to sleep _somewhere_. Not in _Kitty's_ bunk, that was for sure, but something had to be found nevertheless. 

By all appearances, the Captain was just coming to it. Kitty was about to mention the distinct lack of bunks, when Darcy checked her by speaking again. Twice in as many minutes was as likely as the Netherfield was to sprout wings. 

"She'll be bunking with me, of course," he said matter-of-factly. 

Kitty stared. 

Then she stared some more. 

Then she turned to see Lizzy's face, but her sister didn't seem perturbed, nor were the Captain or Doc Lucas. Lydia giggled awkwardly, but the moment passed when the Captain announced an early dinner. Kitty wiped her hand furiously with the hem of her shirt when she saw that Georgiana stayed behind to shake everyone's hand, until there were just a few dinner stragglers left behind. 

Ahead of Kitty was Wickham, who had his hip cocked and his arms crossed casually over his chest. 

"Well, well," Kitty heard him tut. She peeked behind his back to see that Georgiana's friendly smile was frozen on her face as she nodded awkwardly in acknowledgement. 

Wickham sniffed and flounced off, a skip in his step. Kitty managed not to stare after him, or frown too visibly in his direction, and, if she did say so herself, pulled off a great imitation of someone who hadn't just observed very odd behaviour indeed. 

Georgiana's hand was dry and warm, her grip strong without being too firm. She looked directly into Kitty's eyes, but her stare was gentle, unthreatening. 

"Pleased to meet you," she said. Her smile was genuine, as if she actually meant the words, rather than being tied by convention to utter them. 

Kitty began to mutter something in reply, but straightened her voice at the last moment, and managed a passable "Nice to meet you, too." She refused to sound like a gravel-brained mechanic, thank you very much. 

All that was left was to pass to the dining area around the corner. 

They sat at different sides of the table, Georgiana taking a seat next to Darcy when it was obvious he had saved her one. Kitty tried not to be too disappointed, which was easy once Lydia made her way into the room carrying extra cutlery, all smiles and in a great haste to return with the meal, though she did spare a wink for Wickham. 

"Lyds, what's for supper?" Doc Lucas asked Lydia's back. 

"Tuna Surprise!" Lydia yelled excitedly over her shoulder, rushing back into the kitchen for the food plates. 

The table groaned collectively. Doc Lucas dropped her head to the table with a loud bang Lydia wouldn't have heard over the bustle in the kitchen. Even Georgiana glanced in bewilderment towards the kitchen area, wrinkling her little nose in obvious distaste. 

Tuna Surprise turned out to be pretty much what it sounded like. Kitty doubted she would be able to stomach even the sight of a tin of tuna if Lydia were allowed to run their food supply for much longer. 

After Lydia served them cups of the good coffee, Kitty expected something more, either from the Captain about their Charter, or from Georgiana herself, but it seemed that first introduction was all they were going to get. Darcy took Georgiana aside, walking in the direction of his—now _their_ —bunk. 

Tempted to follow them to offer to make herself useful in some way, and thus gain some information on their new arrival and her connection to both Darcy and Wickham, Kitty meant to pass swiftly out of the room. However, her interest was caught by Lydia, who muttered some hints of fresh gossip, largely regarding herself, and Kitty couldn't resist the lure of high-quality ship tidbits. 

That didn't entirely distract from recent oddities. Kitty was determined to find something out over the next few days. 

However, that did not turn out to be the case. Darcy and Georgiana were, without a shadow of a doubt, the most discreet people Kitty had ever had the chance to encounter, which meant that together they were quite formidable. Wickham was just as cocky as ever, though largely refraining from teasing anyone other than Lydia, and that was always in a flirty sort of way that Lydia more than appreciated. 

It was during breakfast two days after Georgiana's arrival that, just as Kitty was starting on her porridge after a late entrance (she'd found a leak in the primary fuel line and had spent most of the morning fixing it), Wickham stood up imperiously from the table, only to kneel in front of Lydia, who looked as if Yuletide and her birthday had both come at once. 

Someone at the table dropped a fork which landed with a clang back on their plate, but that scarcely registered because Wickham had begun to speak as he took Lydia's hand in his. 

"My dearest, you know how much I care for you. My feelings have always been readily apparent. I prostrate myself at your feet." 

He stopped to switch from an expression of piety to one of smirking self-complacency. Lydia beamed. 

"Now it seems we've reached the time for me to prove my adoration for you, my sweetest. I mean to take you away from all of this," he said with a grand wave of his arm that nearly upended a pot of tea from the table. 

Colonel Fitzwilliam cleared his voice and raised an eyebrow at the near-miss, but didn't choose to comment, so Kitty's eyes snapped back to Wickham and Lydia. 

"What can you offer me, you scoundrel? You're a cad is what you are," Lydia said teasingly, pursing her lips into an endearing pout and batting her lashes more than once. 

"I've always been faithful, my dear," Wickham protested in the manner of a great joke. "Not always to you, but I could be. I could certainly be persuaded," he smiled enchantingly. 

Lydia giggled at what she probably perceived as a great show of wit. Half the table, however, discreetly snickered at that. 

Not discreetly enough. Lydia bent her head forward and shushed them rather loudly from the corner of her mouth, smiling winningly at Wickham a second afterwards. Doc Lucas's eyes seemed to bulge out of her head for an instant's surprise, but the next her shoulders shook violently as she endeavoured to stifle a great big laugh. Lydia no longer seemed to notice the people gathered around her and Wickham, seeing as Elizabeth, who was directly in her line of sight, was violently rolling her eyes. 

"But how are you to take me away? You wander Space without tether," Lydia remarked, not uncharitably. 

"How can it affect you? You shall wander with me, my darling," he said, finishing in a near-croon. 

It seemed he had concluded his declarations because he was already rising with Lydia in tow. He made an attempt to carry her out of the dining area in his arms, but the tip of one of Lydia's feet knocked over a teaspoon from the table. 

It was only when the Captain bellowed an outraged "Steady on!" and began rising from his own seat that Wickham lowered Lydia back to the floor, and they made their speedy departure on their own legs. 

They left behind a stunned silence, broken only by Lizzy asking for someone to pass the sugar. At that, they all descended into a light laughter, and Kitty quite forgot about investigating Georgiana and Wickham's acquaintanceship. 

Although Kitty spent the hours until lunch and then early afternoon wandering the ship, looking for spare parts for an experimental divergence recalibration device she was trying to build on her own, she never had to chance to bump into anyone willing to have a nice gossip with her. Lydia and Wickham were, quite naturally, not around, but no one else seemed to be either. 

She was just about to give in and visit the Infirmary with some imaginary ailment, poised to good-naturedly badger Doc Lucas into spilling some ship secrets, when she heard voices from around the corner from the open control room. She peeked through the crack in the door, but Georgiana was nowhere to be seen. 

Come to think of it, one of the voices sounded very much like her, but Kitty had to creep closer in order to attempt to make out the other. She nearly dropped the length of copper tubing she was holding when she realised it was Wickham. 

"You've been ever so grouchy towards me, my dear, ever since boarding. Could we not make up?" he was saying. Georgiana replied something brief and unintelligible. 

Unfortunately for Kitty, she had leant forward too much in order to make out the words, and then found herself stumbling into the area where the two were conversing, dropping the copper tube after all. She hastily picked it up from where it had fallen at their feet, but it was clear the conversation was over. 

Georgiana was staring at Kitty with a puzzled yet gentle expression, but that quickly disappeared once she looked back at Wickham. 

"I didn't meant to interrupt—" Kitty began to apologise. 

"You did nothing of the sort, my dear," Wickham told her airily. "Just a friendly chat between old friends. Isn't that right Georgiana, dearest? But I've been meaning to ask whether you've seen my darling consort," Wickham asked, turning abruptly to Kitty. 

"Um," Kitty started. 

"You don't mind if my lovely sister-in-law and I go in search of my bride-to-be, do you?" he asked Georgiana while engulfing Kitty in a genial one-armed hug. 

"Um," Kitty added intelligently. 

"We've hardly had time to ourselves, you see, not nearly enough," he continued effusively. His grin took up most of his face by that point. 

Georgiana gave a small nod, most likely to herself than to either of them, then her entire demeanour changed in an instant. 

"Oh, don't mind me." She plastered an innocuously-pleasant grin on her face. "Now get the arsing Hell out of my way," she told Wickham agreeably, before she brushed past him on her way to the control room without waiting for a reply, grin still firmly in place. 

Kitty stared, slack-jawed, but Wickham laughed heartily, as if this, too, were another fantastic joke life was providing him with. 

Lydia stumbled in a moment later and snapped Kitty out of her shock. 

"I've been looking for you everywhere." 

Kitty assumed she meant Wickham, but Lydia walked right up to her, and dragged her along to the engine room, talking incessantly about Colonel Fitzwilliam and his cabin boys. Kitty wasn't particularly listening; the mystery was growing exponentially, and she was more determined than ever to figure it out. 

She made her escape from Lydia's clutches half an hour before dinner. Kitty vaguely wondered how Lydia was going to cook their meal in such a short time, but thinking too hard about where the food on the ship came from was never a bright idea. 

Going directly to Georgiana could potentially backfire, but the earlier awkwardness could be just the opening Kitty needed. 

The control room's door was closed but not locked, Kitty found, and she improvised a quick knock. Georgiana was standing opposite and facing the door, looming over the big table in the centre covered with large pieces of thick paper, ink pots and delicate-looking measuring devices. She was holding a fountain pen poised over the corner of a piece of paper, looking up at Kitty's knock. 

"Oh," she said, then visibly shook herself, smiled, and said, "Yes, please come in. May I get you some tea?" She barely finished offering before moving along to a small sidetable covered in tea things. 

She discarded her pen to take up in its stead a sizeable ornate teapot, which she then placed on the hot water stand on the side of the wall. She pressed the tiny button on its side, and boiling water sprouted from the stand covering until Georgiana released it. 

Kitty stood awkwardly, but then decided tea was a good excuse to get a conversation going. 

They sat in a little alcove in comfortable armchairs once Georgiana had made the tea ready. Kitty sipped hers slowly, wonderingly. It was the good stuff, for sure, much better than anything they had ever had on the Netherfield. 

She nearly missed Georgiana's words. 

"I can only imagine you've come for some sort of explanation." Kitty looked up guiltily. "Oh, what you must think of me!" Georgiana cried. 

"No, no, not at all," Kitty hurried to reassure her. 

"It's not at all what you must think," Georgiana said, lowering her cup to its plate. "Wickham and I, well. He was Pilot on the same ship I was Charter on before coming aboard the Netherfield. Fitzwilliam and I have known him since our days on the Pemberley, of course, back when it used to make long-haul journeys, but it was pure coincidence Wickham and I were both later employed on the same ship. Needless to say, he hasn't taken his sacking from the Pemberley very graciously, and he used to make himself very disagreeable when we last shared a ship." She stopped, apparently thinking Kitty had something to say in response, but Kitty wasn't sure she had understood more than two words in total. 

"I don't really..." she trailed off. 

"So, you see, it is not at all a romantic entanglement. It never was." 

"Um," Kitty started. "I had no such suspicions. So Darcy is..." 

"What about my brother?" Georgiana said curiously. 

Kitty had a brief moment of vertigo mentally running through all the instances she'd seen Darcy and Georgiana interact. When she could manage words, she said the only possible thing that would make the situation less awkward. 

"He's very frowny, your brother. Does his frown take up all the space in your cabin? Where shall his eyebrows sleep?" 

The sound that emanated from Georgiana was a mix between a great roaring laugh and a shocked gasp. Kitty watched her press both hands over her own mouth almost instantaneously, but her shoulders shook in evident mirth. 

Kitty tried, and failed, to not giggle herself. Whoever heard of a giggling Ship Mechanic? Very unprofessional, that. Georgiana, however, didn't seem to mind, as if she genuinely found Kitty bearable in her girlishness. After dropping her hands, she grinned disarmingly in the most adorable way, dimples showing, and Kitty could swear her eyes were twinkling. 

There was a distinct possibility Kitty was a little bit smitten. 

It perhaps should have been an alarming realisation, but, oddly enough, Kitty found she didn't much mind. 

They returned to sipping their tea. The dimples never disappeared completely, for which Kitty was glad. A gentle, companionable silence descended. 

"Wickham has been behaving himself. Since he's been on board and taking up with Lydia, I mean," Kitty muttered. She feared raising her voice more would change the mood between them. 

"I've seen him jovial since my arrival," Georgiana commented. "I shan't miss his negative attentions, and your sister and he seem to have found their matches in each other," she said without malice or meanness, attitudes which Kitty sincerely doubted Georgiana could ever possess. 

Kitty finished the last of her tea, and noticed Georgiana's cup was also empty. They could refresh the pot, she supposed, but she wanted to prevent either of them leaving the table at that moment. It seemed as if something more was forthcoming, something as yet indecipherable to Kitty's mind, distinctly fragile if disturbed. 

"I hadn't much instinct to deduce the relationship between yourself and Wickham," she said instead. 

"There is no relationship between me and Wickham, merely an acquaintanceship going back a long time." 

"I could see for myself the dislike you sometimes let slip," Kitty continued. 

"Hmm, he has never been one of my favourite people, much less so on the Netherfield, where almost everyone is kind and generous towards my person." She said it with a great deal of sincerity in her smile, it seemed to Kitty. "In just a few short days I've grown quite fond of most of the crew. Why, dear Charlotte has been popping in for tea every single afternoon since my arrival." She meant Doc Lucas, Kitty knew, though no one called her anything other than Doc on-ship, as far as Kitty knew. 

"Oh, well. Yes. Doc is surely kind, and pleasant... Of course, yes," she babbled. "You seem to like her a lot," she finished lamely. 

Georgiana tipped her head down, as if something on the table were of great interest. 

"I like you far more," she said, looking up at Kitty from underneath her eyelashes. 

There was nothing else left to do other than to engage in a bout of very enthusiastic kissing. 

Kitty hadn't kissed anyone quite like Georgiana ever before. There had been two ladies on different occasions since Kitty's joining as Ship Mechanic on the Netherfield, but both had been brief dalliances while stopping over to collect or deposit cargo. They had both been complete strangers, and very forward besides, though Kitty had enjoyed herself well enough. 

Now, she could see that Georgiana's shyness never fully went away, but the way in which she pressed her lips against Kitty's seemed to indicate she might be persuaded to shed a bit more of it in the near future. Kitty planed to be around when that happened. 

They parted for Kitty to circle the table and seat herself on the armrest of Georgiana's armchair. She had nearly fallen over the tea things in her haste for a first kiss, but now she could lean towards Georgiana's lips without fearing she'd have to replace a tea service besides. 

In no time at all dinner was announced, and they had to part to make their way to the dining area. Kitty was pleased to notice Georgiana brush the side of her hand against Kitty's as they walked side by side through the ship. 

Everyone had already seated themselves, and Kitty gave a silent thanks that the smells emanating from the kitchen indicated a distinct lack of tuna. 

She didn't think anything about the sitting arrangements that evening until she noticed her companion had yet to abandon her even when Kitty was about to take her own seat. Darcy frowned at the empty chair next to him, but then seemed to shrug it off without revealing even a trace of emotion, which impressed Kitty, used though she was to his impassivity. In his place, she would surely have been spiritedly awaiting an instance in which to ask all the pertinent questions. He merely glossed over Georgiana's form seated at Kitty's elbow. 

Kitty could hardly pay any mind to the conversations occurring around her all through supper and coffee. On their way out, Lizzy stopped her with a touch to her arm. Georgiana having been taken away by Darcy without the chance of more than a small, secret smile, Kitty followed her sister to a secluded alcove. 

Elizabeth rarely wanted to converse solely with Kitty, unless serious matters were afoot. Kitty had always thought her a bit of a bore with rare bouts of unintentional hilarity. It seemed, whoever, that this time she had some intentional hilarity to share. 

According to Lizzy, earlier that afternoon, well after the breakfast shenanigans had occurred, Darcy had been passing through a remote area of the ship where he had found Wickham's head already buried in Lydia's crotch, who had in turn proceeded to ask Darcy to join them. According to Lizzy, his face had taken the better part of an hour to lose its deep flush, which he steadfastly claimed was due to rushing about the ship. 

Kitty guffawed so liberally upon hearing this strange tale that she nearly missed Elizabeth's probing look. 

"Well, dear sister, have you something of import to share with me as well?" she asked in a far more conspiratorial voice than Kitty had ever heard from her. 

Changing the subject didn't promise to work in the least, but, when Kitty attempted it, Elizabeth let it lie easily. She smiled sisterly at Kitty, after which they parted on a far better note than Kitty would have considered possible. 

In the following weeks, the number of instances where various crew members stumbled upon Wickham and Lydia increased exponentially. Kitty and Georgiana were not among those who always found themselves disturbing them, mostly because they were themselves too busy with each other. While they did respect each other's need for allotted time to do their jobs competently and efficiently, Kitty seemed to always be counting the minutes until their next meeting in the privacy of either the control room or Darcy's empty cabin. 

The expectation that Wickham would indeed "take Lydia away" disappeared when their second cargo stop—following his pronouncements—came and went without a move on anyone's part to realise them. Alas, it seemed Wickham would become a permanent passenger on the ship, although Kitty was sure he continued to pay his passage to Colonel Fitzwilliam. He had even begun to aid Lydia in providing the Crew with meals which, mercifully, did not involve tuna in any way whatsoever. 

As for Kitty, she was more than happy in her anticipation of the day when she would bring up to the Captain the possibility of finding a disused cabin somewhere on the ship for herself and Georgiana. After all, their new Charter couldn't bunk with her brother permanently. That would never do.


End file.
